Anyone else working tonight? I've made a start on my corrections. Have already done the few typos. Now going through the captions, making sure they are all the right type, full enough, and preparing to add source references below tables etc. And then much repaginating. And renumbering tables of contents and stuff.

But it's a start :) Because I use an antiquated version of Word I'm not going to send in the corrections using track changes, but will prepare a separate PDF of just the changed pages, and highlighting the changes probably in red or something. Somehow I think that might be a lot of work in itself!

Ah well. Cracking on.

Hi Lilbo,

It's ok to answer in a negative way initially, but good if you can turn it around into a positive, even if that is explaining why you choose to take the approach you did.

The contribution to knowledge question is particularly important, because ultimately that's why anyone should be awarded a PhD. So have a fresh think about that. What is new as a result of your research? It can be facts, methodologies, etc. I was lucky because I'd been aware of this question when I wrote my abstract, before submission, so wrote my abstract to stress my contribution. So maybe I didn't get quizzed about it as much as I might have been. Your answer sounds good for starters, but have a think if there is anything else you could say. For example what do you mean by building? Is it experimental, or theoretical, or what? I know this should be obvious from your thesis, but spell it out for the examiners.

If you can't answer a question that's perfectly ok. You could just say it is a very interesting question, but you'd need to think about it more before you could give a proper answer. And maybe thank them for raising the issue :)

Bilbo

I would be looking at cutting down what you are planning to do. You are likely to need a contingency plan of running over because things don't go quite to plan over the next 18 months anyway. Assuming now that you will just need that time gives you no extra leeway.

I really think you need to be straight with your supervisor that you think you are tackling too much, and won't be able to complete on time (or near time - even being optimistic) at her current plans.

My experience was a little different because I was part-time, but I still had to draw up a timetable for the remainder of the PhD, and I know all too well how that plan can then slip.

Oh and forgot to mention but I didn't have a mock viva either. It wasn't offered to me, and I agreed with you that it would have worried me more, so I didn't ask for one. Rather just deal with 1 viva I decided: the big one!

My viva lasted almost exactly an hour, all in, though it would have gone on for longer if I hadn't been told the result at the start, and had been kicked out while they deliberated at the end.

I didn't do a summary discussion of my thesis, and wasnt asked to. My first question was "Why did you choose this research topic" which is a good gentle ice-breaker.

I think all my viva questions were based either on my thesis, or in my research area. Some I had to say I hadn't looked at, or explain in more detail my views based on instinct/experience rather than direct research findings, but they were all related to my research area/topic.

The hardest question I found was the one where I was asked if I had to choose just one conclusion from my research, which would it be. I'd pondered this in the weeks in advance and hadn't made my mind up then. I ended up saying can I give an answer with sub-facets? :)

My viva preparation involved reading a viva preparation book (Tinkler and Jackson) to demystify the process, rereading and summarising my thesis to familiarise myself with it and spot typos (I took a list into the viva on the day and handed it out - all examiners/convenor were very grateful), and thinking about and memorising my answers to 5 key questions: originality of my thesis, contribution to knowledge, methodology, weaknesses/gaps/mistakes, and what would I do differently if starting again.

Good luck!

Belatedly catching up on this, but great news Chrisrolinski: well done!

And one tip from me: make sure you include your journal paper(s) in your thesis bibliography, if your supervisor tells you you should. I didn't (didn't think I should), and was told off by my examiners for not including mine! But then again they were also very pleasantly surprised to learn that I had a meaty relevant journal paper already ;-)

I like Arial best too, but used Times for my thesis.

The worst feedback I ever had from reviewers was on a paper I put together after my history BA, based on a substantial research project I'd undertaken (I'm a historian, and my final undergraduate course included a very large research project based on primary sources). The feedback was very bad. Maybe I tried too early. But I wasn't going to let it put me off trying again.

Enjoy your break Keep_Calm and good luck with your resubmission of the paper. Fingers crossed for you.

Thanks again everyone. Just got the email from my viva convenor confirming the required corrections, which are all ridiculously minor (basically a few typos - most of which I'd spotted - plus improving/correcting some captions). Have a month to do them, but reckon I can do them in about a week. But not this week!

Happy Easter to everyone, whether religious or not (latter in my case). And happy chocolate egg munching to anyone like me who has a large chocolate egg stashed ready for the occasion.

Thanks everyone for all the very kind wishes. I really appreciate them. And yes I will still be hanging around here. Try to get rid of me!

Just been catching up with lost sleep today. I think adrenaline was keeping me going through yesterday, and then it made it very hard to get to sleep again last night! But I've just had a very good long uninterrupted sleep for 8 hours. Wow.

And it still hasn't quite sunk in :p

Hi Teek, I'm about, though I really should be sleeping after yesterday, but am having a bit of trouble unwinding and relaxing! Just been reading various bits of advice about corrections. I can imagine that when I get the report from my examiners I'll be up burning the night oil a little bit!

Good luck with your revisions. It's good that you're happy that the suggested changes will be an improvement, even if it will be a bind to go through. It's much worse if you vehemently disagree with the changes that a supervisor suggests!

I've just had 2 of them too. Have deleted them for now, but thanks Wally for the blocking tip.

Thanks everyone :-) I really appreciate all the kind messages.

I'm going to have a big celebratory nosh up next week, but have a bottle of fizzy (more Moet et Chandon) in the meantime. Oh and one humungous Galaxy Minstrels Easter Egg. Yum!

Congratulations Jinkim65. It's a wonderful feeling having submitted, though it took a day or two to sink in for me. Enjoy your time off before the viva. And it sounds as though you have a very good attitude to that.